You love Gaga. Admit it. Overexposed. Overrated. Overplayed. Whatever you want to call her. I bet you have her songs in your iTunes or at least catch yourself humming her singles daily.
Well, she only has three albums out, so I didn't really want to do a non-singles thread as I did for Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Rihanna or the whole love song tribute I did for Beyoncé. No, since Gaga's career has a heavy focus on controversy and sheer shock factor, where accidental or not, I think it'd be great to look back on some of the stunts she's done that not only shocked us, but were actually really cool. After, I'll also point out some things that seemed more like a desperate cry for attention.
That Time She Bled to Death
I think this is the moment were the whole world stood back and said, "Wow! This chick is a performer." Up until this point, Gaga seemed to be a big hit maker like Katy Perry or Rihanna, but after this, the whole world fixed their thirsty eyes on her every move. This is also one of the more iconic MTV Video Music Award performances.
The Time She Wore A Bunch of Cows
As disgusting as this seemed, she got exactly what she wanted out of this, which is controversy that is still talked about today. Anyone else who did this would have been all over the internet for it for a week or two, but people still bring it up today because it was so Gaga, but still so unexpected. I mean, who the fuck wears meat, well, except Ed Gain? Raw meat at that!
The Time She Was A Man & Stole The VMAs
The Britney Spears homage during the 2011 VMAs was already questionably shitty, although promoted well. It didn't help that Beyoncé was up to her usual spotlight stealing way with a abnormally large baby bump, but all-in-all the night didn't belong to either pop queen. It went to Gaga for her hilarious and nostalgic Ode to Spears. When people talk about Britney's tribute at the VMAs, they're more likely to bring up Gaga's wild antics than Britney herself.
The Time Beyoncé Bailed Her Out Of Jail
Talk about clash of the titans. There is no argument that at this time Beyoncé and Lady Gaga dominated the music industry completely. For these two to get together and do a duet was just unheard of. Yeah, the song was pretty good, but it was really the high fashion and energetic video that will make this duet go down in history. The video gained over a hundred million views (before being mysteriously deleted and re-added) on YouTube.
That Time She Was On The Simpsons
Ok, it was extremely corny, but still hilarious the way she poked fun at herself as a literally manufactured pop star. Each time she had a "vision" I literally laughed out loud.
That Time She Ran For President
Well, not really. She did, however, make a special trip to the White House to make a stance on equal rights, especially gay rights and anti-bullying. This is one of the moments were I was actually proud of Gaga for shoving her agenda down our throats, because she was using her powers for good!
That Time... Um... The Bad Romance Video!
Easily the high point of her career so far, the "Bad Romance" video is one of the greatest videos of all time. It seemed to be the absolute limit of weirdness before Gaga became a little bit too much for some. It was almost like a short movie. I've probably watched (and danced along with) this video 100 times.
...and now a couple of moments I wish never happened.
The Time She Was Reborn At The Grammy Awards
It just seemed like a poorly executed attempt to recreate the massive press attention from the meat dress. Though she went to great lengths to make this a big event, with the egg and weird placenta dress, it failed to meet the same hype. Plus, the performance at that years show was boring, which did not help.
That Other Time She Worked With Beyoncé
Dear Lord it was horrendous. The song didn't really fit Gaga's style (though I admit she adapted well), the dancing seemed like Beyoncé was purposely trying to make her look like a rhythmless white chick and the budget was about as high as McDonald's value menu. I wish Gaga had backed out of this project.
There have also been various fashion moments I like to omit from memory, like the lobster dress of the...weird Bambi Awards thing. Make no mistake. I love Gaga's music. It's some of her fans that annoy me.
What are your favorite and least favorite Gaga moments? Share them in the comment section... and let's not turn this to a Gaga vs. Britney, Madonna, Christina thing, please!
The VMA performance is and prolly always will be my fav of hers....not quite beating out slave 4 u or like a virgin....but deff top 3 :D thanks for this post...
ReplyDeleteGaga peaked at Bad Romance. I was obsessed with that...the direction she took born this way killed everything. She comes off as a try-hard and the public is tired of her. She really needs to win back the general audience with her next album, if not, it's ByeBye GaGa.
ReplyDeleteCorrection: The FAME era peaked with BAD ROMANCE (aka the MONSTER EP). The Born This Way ERA won't peak until the next EP... this upcoming 4th album. :)
DeleteI wonder how's her music would sound like as she might going back to where she did with her first album. On her Born This Way Ball Tour, she announced one of the producer, Dj. ZEED who is going to be part of her upcoming album. Maybe she will do more of catchy up-tempo songs?
ReplyDeleteTHIS^^^ Zedd*
Deletehere for Britney, bye
ReplyDeleteokay bye.
Delete"... and let's not turn this to a Gaga vs. Britney, Madonna, Christina thing, please!"
Oh God please, bye!
DeleteLooking forward to the next ERA :) Diana, together we'll dance in the dark.
ReplyDeleteNo I do not love Gaga. Some of her music is ok but as a person I cannot stand her.
ReplyDeleteWe love you either way :)
DeleteAgree with you Martin on The Time She Was Reborn At The Grammy Awards.
ReplyDeleteI thought the performance lacked cool theatrical elements apparent in Gaga's previous acts (e.g. when she was singing Bad Romance in white skeleton outfit then followed by an electrifying rendition of Speechless over a fire-burst piano in 2011 American Music Awards, not to mention, the dramatic opening show of 2010 Grammy Awards which resemble Gaga's broadway before it transformed into a stellar duet with Elton John belting out a brilliant mashup of Speechless & Your Song - pure gold!).
Nonetheless, On 2011 Grammy Awards Born This Way performance, Gaga really showcased her vocal prowess which had never been as prominent as it was. I was blown away by how amazing she sounded and how energetic her dance moves were. Her progress as a star was staggering.
I also agree with you on That Other Time She Worked With Beyoncé.
I thought Gaga's "Honey, baby you so sexy that you should win an Oscar" lyric was cheesy, and her makeup in the video was ghastly (her nose was scarily long, and her body was way too thin).
Lastly, I agree on all Gaga's Greatest Moments ;)
I agree with her most iconic moments! I thought the Grammy performance was pretty iconic as well though. She was in superwoman shape and she was dancing her ass off while singing amazingly at the same time. Then at the bridge when she played a short piece of Bach and then belted out the next few lines and the "C'MON" at the little pause were brilliant. She had a great time performing, you could see that. The year before (or two?) when she performed with Elton John was also amazing but she was a bit off tune. She definately improved her singing skills! And I agree with you on the fact that the fan base can be very annoying (like every fanbase of course), but I hope everyone realises that not every little monster is a delusional twitter freak..
ReplyDeleteI love how when it comes to comparing BORN THIS WAY and Express Yourself the only thing people can say is that it's chords are similar. That's because there's more differences than similarities.
ReplyDelete